Method of annealing and apparatus therefor



. L. c. HAMLlNK 2,95,979

METHOD OF ANNEALING AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1935 5Sheets-Sheet 1!.

ATTORNEYS.

* 1, 193?. L. c. HAMLIINK METHOD OF ANNEALING AND APPARATUS THEREFORFiled NOV. 23, 19 55 s Sheets-Sheef 2 L. Q. HAMLINK METHOD OF ANNEALINGAND APPARATUS THEREFOR m. w, wary;

Filed Nov. 23, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF ANNEALING AND APPARATUS THEREFOR LazenbyC. Hamlink, Cleveland -Heig-hts, Ohio, assignor to The Gas MachineryCompany, Cleveland, hio,- a corporation of Ohio Application November 23,1935, Serial No. 51,292

3 Claims. (01. 266-) My invention relates to improved methods ofannealing metal sheets and improved apparatus by which .such methods maybe worked. The particular objects of the invention are to devise 5methods of operation and apparatus by which satisfactory continuousannealing may be effected conveniently and with an aconomy of fuel andat the least loss of time and expenditure of effort in passing throughthe successive stages of a complete annealing operation and in passingfrom the annealing of one batch of sheets to the annealing of anotherbatch of sheets.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detailcertain steps illustrating the manner of carrying out my new andimproved method and certain apparatus by which the method can be worked,such disclosed steps and apparatus constituting, however, but one of thevarious series of steps by which the method may be worked and but one ofthe various forms of apparatus in which the principle of the inventionmay be embodied.

In said annexed drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a pile of metal sheets positioned upon aworking base and. covered by a so-called inner cover which is partlybroken away, the base, cover, and sheets being associated with a workingfloor provided with certain underground conduits and manholes, and handcovers for the manholes, utilized in the working of my improved methodsof annealing;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a base, inner cover, and a pile of sheetscovered by' a certain heating cover utilized during the annealingoperation proper, the flow directions of the combustion, air

and gases and the products of combustion being indicated by arrows;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section of the elements shown inFigure 2, the view being taken in the planes indicated by the lines 3-3,33',

Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section of the elements shown inFigure 2, the view being taken in the plane indicated by the line 4-4,Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of the elements shown inFigure 2, the view being taken in the plane indicated by the line 5-5,Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a. plan of a working base, a pile of sheets and an innercover thereon associated with a regenerating cover utilized forpreheating combustion air, the flow direction of the air beingheated'being indicated by arrows;

Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section of the elements shown inFigure 6, the view being taken in the plane indicated by the line 1-1,Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a plan view of a working base, a pile of sheets and an innercover thereon associated with a preheating cover utilized for giving 5the sheet pile a preliminary heating by products of combustion derivedfrom a heating operation efiected in the structure shown in Figures 2,3, 4 and 5, the flow movements of the products of combustion into thepreheating cover and the 10 waste products out from the preheating coverbeing indicated by arrows;

Figure 9 is a transverse vertical section of the elements shown inFigure 8, the view being taken in the plane indicated by the line. 9-9,,Figure 8; .15

Figure 10 is a longitudinal vertical section of the elements shown inFigure 8, the view being taken in the plane indicated by the lineIii-l0, Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a plan view, upon a reduced scale, 20 of five unitscarrying out the entirecycle of my improved method of annealing, theview showing multiple stations, complete in themselves as a whole foreffectingthe entire cycle of operations, or capable of use, ifdesirable, with additional 25 stations; at which five stations variousannealing and cooling functions can be simultaneously effected upon aplurality of batches of sheet steel, the several batches being heated bythe use of a single heating cover utilized at the several sta- 30 tionsin rotation. The stations at which the movable heating cover is notbeing used at any one time are respectively utilized by the aid of othercovers to perform certain other operations of the annealing cycle uponother batches. This 5 view also shows the conduits and pipes for theconveyance and transfer during the annealing operation of the fuel andair for combustion, and the products of combustion, and the wasteproducts of combustion. In this view the unit at the 40 left end isshown in use for air cooling a pile of annealed and hot sheets under aninner cover; the next unit is a regenerating one and is preheating airintended for combustion, by the heat derivable from a pile of sheetsfrom which a heat- 45 ing cover hasjust been removed; the next or middleunit is heating a pile of sheets under a heating cover; the next unit orthe one second from the right is preheating a. pile of sheets next to becovered by the heating cover of unit 3; and 50 at unit 5 or the righthand unit, a new pile of sheets is in position under an inner coverready for the annealing treatment;

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 11 in which the heating cover ofFigure 11 has been 55 sheets.

moved to station 4 from station 3, and the other stations are showncorrespondingly advanced to the next stage of their annealing andcooling operations, it being noted that the stages of operation movesuccessively from left to right andare transferred from the extremeright station to the extreme left station after having been performed atthe extreme right station; in other words, the cycle of operations isperformed in a closed circuit; and

, Figures 13, 14, and 15 are views similar to Fig ures 11 and 12 butshowing successively further stages of operation at the several stationsof the annealing assembly.

Referring to the annexed drawings in whic the same parts are designatedby the same re-' spective numbers in the several views, I providebeneath the surface of a working floor 1 three parallel horizontalunderground conduits 2, 3, and 4, all at the same level, of which oneouter conduit 2 serves for transfer of products ofcombustionhavingefi'ective heat, the other outer conduit 3 serving totransfer to a stack 5 waste products of combustion, and the intermediateconduit 4 serving to transfer preheated air for combustion. On the floorlevel and between the vertical projections of the outer conduits 2 and3, I provide a plurality of bases 6 serving as supports for variouscovers utilized in the annealing operation, and hereinafter fullydescribed, these basesj serving as stations at each of which all thedifferent steps of the annealing process are effected in succession.While one step of the annealing process is being carried out at onestation, other steps of the annealing process are being carried outsimultaneously and respectively at the other stations. In other words,any one batch of sheets is subjected to all operations at onestation, 1. e. maintained in situ during the entire annealing operation,but while one operation is being effected at one station upon one batchof sheets, other operations are being eifected at other stations uponother batches of sheets, so that a plurality of stations at whichdifferent operations are being conducted are being utilizedsimultaneously for a, plurality of batches of By means fully hereindescribed, the covers utilized at the. several "stationsintercommunicate in various way conduits 2, 3, a

.. Communication between the conduits 2, {and 4 and the several coversis effected by manholes I which serve as valve casings opening into theconduits 2, 3, and 4, and which are upstanding from these conduits andhave open upper endsand also have sand or. other sealing reservoirs!adjacent their upper ends into which removable hand covers 9 dip andserve as valves for closing off the upper ends of the manholes I whendesired. The arrangement of these hand covers 9' provides the propersetting for the desired transferring of heated air, products ofcombustion, and waste gases, and the positioning of the hand covers 9 isvaried from time to-time according to which stations Git is desired toutilize forthe several annealing operations.

These annealing operations are in sequence as shown in theaccompanyingdrawings and de-' scribed herein in detail for purposes of illustration,first, the positioning of a fresh batch of sheets upon a base 6 fromwhich a batch of annealed and cooled sheets has just been removed(illustrated at the right hand station in Figure 11); secondly, thepreheating of such batch with cans of the underground.

the products of combustion derived from the heating of another batchwith combusted fuel (illustrated at the station the second from theright in Figure 11); thirdly, the actual heating (illustrated in themiddle station in Figure 11); fourthly, the use of the heat from theannealed cooling batch for heating air to be utilized in combustion(illustrated at the next to the left hand station in Figure 11) and,fifthly, the final cooling in air of the annealed batch (illustrated atthe left hand station in Figure 11) For these several operations, exceptfor the actual removal of an annealed and cooled batch from, and thepositioning of a fresh batch upon, a base 6, an inner cover In isutilized, which is well known to those skilled in the art and whichrather closely confines the batch. For three of the operations, specialcovers are also used; one, a preheating cover ll used for the unannealedpositioned batchbeing preheated by products of combustion; two, aheating cover I2 used for the heating effected by burning fuel gas withpreheated air; and three, a regenerating cover l3 used for preheatingair by the heat of a cooling batch, this preheated air being passed tothe heating cover for mixture with gas to heat'the batch under theheating cover [2 at that time.

In Figures 1115, five successive arrangements of the various covers andthe means governing the conduits 2, 3, and 4 are shown, and in all thesefigures combined, the batch of sheets at any station is being subjectedto all the difierent operations or undergoing all the differentconditions of the entire annealing process. In these figures, theright-hand batch ll of sheets can be considered to be undergoing theseveral annealing operations in proper order from Figure 11 to Figure15, inclusive. In other words, this right-hand batch I 4 in Figure 11 isa fresh pile of sheets ready to be heat-treated; in Figure 12, thisbatch is being preheated by means of the useof the preheating cover IIand the proper setting of the transfer means for the products ofcombustion; in Figure 13, this batch I4 is being heated under the coverl2 by the combustion of fuel gas and heated air, the

heated air transfer means being properly set and the gas-supply pipesbeing opened; in Figure 14, thisvbatch I4 is cooling and the heatderived therefrom is being utilized to heat air furnished by a blowerIS, the heated air transferring means being set to transfer the air tothe batch being heated; and in Figure 15, this atch I4 is receiving itsfinal cooling in air. It will be noted that in all of the Figures 11,12, 13, 14, and 15, the batch I4 is enclosed by the inner cover Ill. Theother batches of sheets shown in Figures 11-15 upon the bases 6 are alsoundergoing the several operations but each one at any one time adifierent operation from that to which the batch. I4 is subjected, andeach one at any one time a different operation from that to which anyother batch is subjected. Of

9 course, no one batch shown in Figures 11-15,

except batch I4, is shown in all of the Figures 11-45, because batch i4is the only batch shown in Figure 11 which has as yet received notreatment, the otherbatches shown in Figure 11 new batch ready to beheat treated.

The bases or stations 6 are formed of insulating material and have uppersuitable stock supporting portions i and lower outwardly-ex-.

tended shoulder portions 6 forming supports for the inner covers Ill.Upwardly-extended from the shoulder 6 and outwardly-spaced from thestock supporting portion 6 are refractory plates 20 forming troughs 2|filled with sand or other suitable sealing material. The inner c'oversID are supported upon their lower edges in these sealing troughs 2|. Thebases or stations 6 are also formed with upwardly-extended peripheralflang'es 6 .spaced from the outer vertical walls of theshoulder portions6 to form troughs 22 filled with sand or other suitable sealingmaterial. The preheating cover II, the heating cover I2, and theregenerating cover I3 are formed of refractory insulating material andrespectively have downwardly-extended flanges II, I2, and [3" formed ofsuitable refractory material and adapted to dip into the troughs 22 whenthese covers II, I2, and I3 are in position upon the bases or stations6.

The regenerator cover I3 is additionally provided with a blower 21 whosedischarge pipe communicates with a space 28 formed between the innercover I0 and the inner wall of the regenerator body I3 and entirelysurrounding the top andside of the inner cover Ill. The regeneratorcover I3 is also formed upon the side thereof opposite the blower 21with a downwardly-extended conduit portion 29 adapted when theregenerator cover I3 is in position on a base or station 6 tocommunicate with a manhole 1 on the central underground conduit 4, as

clearly shown in Figure 7. Assuming that the stack of sheets within theregenerating cover I3 is one which has just been annealed under aheating cover I2, it is evident that the air furnished by the blower 21is heated in its passage through the cover I3 around the inner cover I0and is discharged in this heated condition into the centralundergroundconduit 4 whence it is conducted to the heating cover I2, Figures 11-15.

l The heating cover I2 is formed with oppositely-disposeddownwardly-extended side conduit portions 30 having downwardly-extendedbottom flanges 30' adapted to dip into seals 8 of manholes I providedupon the central underground conduit 4, Figure 3. Thus the air heat;- edin the regenerator cover I3 can pass to the burners of the heating coverI2 and this it does at bothends of the heating cover I2 and upon bothsides through the medium of longitudinal pipes 3! which commmunicate atone end with conduits 3B and discharge at the other end into burners 32intersecting the end walls of the heating cover I2 at different levels,as clearly seen in Figure 5. Also feeding into, the

burners 32 are pipes 33 adapted to furnish gasel ous fuel for combustionwith the heated air furnished the burners 32 by the longitudinal pipes3|. The fired mixture enters the heating cover I2 at both ends of theside walls thereof and traverses said side walls repeatedly by anysuitably formed tortuous conduit 34, one form of such conduit beingshown in the accompanying drawings for purposes of illustration, andbeing formedlby walls 40 inwardly spaced from the main outer side wallsof the heating cover I2 in combination with horizontal partitions 4 Iwhich are alternately open at opposite ends to form a tortuous conduitfor the heating gases from bottom to top of the heating cover I2, asclearly shown in Figure 5. The products of combustion pass into end sideflues 35 at the top of the heating cover I2 and adjacent one.end thereofwhence they are conducted laterally to a downwardly-extended andcentrally located flue 36 at one end of the heating cover I2 which isformed in an outwardly-extended end extension 31 of the heating coverI2. The flue 36 communicates with a manhole 1 and the products ofcombustion are thus discharged into the side underground conduit 2. Theextension 31 has a depending flange 31' adapted to dip into the seals 8formed on the manholes 1 of the underground conduit 2. It is thusevident from Figures 11-15 that the products of combustion from theannealing operation under the heat-v ing cover I2 can be conductedtoward the preheating cover II and they enter said preheating cover IIthrough the medium of an outwardly and downwardly extended conduit 38formed upon one end of the cover II and adapted to communicate with themanholes 1 formed upon the underground conduit 2, the upper end of thepassage 39 formed in the conduit 38 communicating with a space 42provided between the inner cover l0 and the side wall of the preheatingcover II and entirely surrounding the side walls and top of said coverI0. Upon the end of the preheating cover II opposite to that providedwith the extension 38 is formed another downwardly-extended conduitmember 43 forming a passage 44 communicating at its upper end with thespace 42 and adapted to communicate; when the preheating cover II is inposition upon a base or station 6, with a manhole 1 formed upon the sideunderground conduit 3. Thus it'is evident that the waste products ofcombustion, discharged from the preheating of a stack of sheets inthecover II by the products of combustion derived from the heating coverl2, pass to the stack 5. The extensions and 43 of the preheating coverII are formed with depending. flanges 38 and 43, respectively, adaptedto dip into the seals 8 of the manholes 1 when the preheating coverII isin position upon the bases 5.

It will be noted in Figures 11-15 that the conduits 2, 3, and 4 areprovided with five identical sets of manholes 1, the manholes 1 in eachset for any one conduit being identical with the manholes 1 of any otherset for the same conduit. heating cover I2, and the extensions 31thereof, are arranged to register with the manhole 1 of the conduits 4and 2, respectively, theextensions 38 and 43 of the preheating cover IIto register with the manholes 1 of the conduits 2 and 3, respectively,and the extensions-29 of the regenerating cover I3 to register with therighthand manhole 1 of the conduit 4 in each of the sets of manholes, sothat in any of the several arrangements of the covers H, I2, and I3respectively. shown in Figures 11-15, suitable communication is providedbetween the several conduits 2, 3, and 4 and the covers II, I2,'and I3,those manholes 1 which should be shutoff for any particular arrangementof the covers II, I2, and I3 being closed by the manhole covers 9.

The several covers II], II, I2, and I3 can be provided with any suitablemeans for positioning, and removing, and transferring the same, theparticular cooperating means for this purpose that is formed upon thecovers being 111113;- trated by elements 23, 24,25, and 26 on the innercover I0, preheating cover II, heating cover l2, andregenerating coverI3, respectively.

From the aforegoing description and the accompanying drawings, it isevident that the necessary control of the flow of air and theFurthermore, the extensions 30 of the continuous. to interrupt theannealing process, three staproducts of combustion and waste products ofcombustion can be obtained, irrespective of the stations on which theseveral covers H, l2, and I3 are placed by removing the hand covers 9from the manholes I where communication is necessary between theunderground flues 2, 3, and 4 and the several covers, and at the sametime covering the manholes "I by hand covers 9 Where it is necessary toshut off such communication. It is also evident that for any arrangementof the covers ll, l2, and I3, two of the bases 6, of the five bases 6,which are herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, areprovided with stacks of sheets and inner covers In which are not incommunication with the conduits 2, 3, and 4, or with the other covers;for instance, the left-hand base 6 and the right-hand base 6, Figure 11.More than two such idle stations 6 might be provided, or even one idlestation 6 might at times be suitable, depending upon the respectivetiming of the several operations in a whole cycle of operations. Forpurposes of illustration, I have shown and described two idle stations6, upon one of which, the right-hand one in Figure 11, it is consideredthat a fresh pile of sheets is stacked ready for heat treatment; andupon the other of which, the left-hand station 6, Figure 11, it isconsidered that a pile of annealed sheets, which in partial cooling hasgiven heat to air under the cover III in the previous stage ofoperations, is now being permitted to take its final cooling in air. Thetiming of the several operations in a whole cycle of operationsdetermines largely how many stations 6 and inner covers I0 are utilized.For instance, if the regenerative operation adequately cools the batchwhich has been annealed, this batch could be replaced by a fresh batch,while the next operations are being effected, and thus four stationswould be utilized, and the annealing process would be In the event thatit were desirable tions might be utilized, and the process interruptedwhile the cooled batch was being replaced by a fresh batch. However, inFigures 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, I have assumed, for purposes ofillustration, that the annealing process is continu- .ous, and that afinal cooling of a treated and preliminarily cooled batch is effected inair after the regenerating cover has been removed therefrom, and whilethis final cooling is taking place, and the other batches are beingrespectively preheated, heated and preliminarily cooled, the batch whichhad finally cooled during the preceding set. of operations is beingreplaced by a fresh batch.

What I claim is: Y I

1. Apparatus for annealing comprising spaced fixed bases, movable coversfor said bases adapted respectively for regenerating, annealing,preheating, and cooling operations, and each adapt.- ed for mountingupon any of said bases to effect thereon its particular operation, meanssupplying air to th regenerating cover, burners firing into theannealing cover, and means supplying gas to the burners, a plurality ofconduits, one for conveying preheated air for combustion from theregenerating cover to said burners, one for con-' veying preheatingproducts of combustion from the annealing cover to the preheating cover,and one for conveying waste products of combustion away from thepreheating cover, said conduits being each provided with a plurality ofports, and removable closures for said ports, the ports being arrangedto permit, in combination with their closures, the functioning aforesaidof the respective conduits irrespective of the relative location uponthe bases of the several covers.

2. Apparatus for annealing comprising spaced fixed bases, movable coversfor said bases adapted repectively for regenerating, annealing,preheating, and cooling operations, and each adapted for mounting uponany of said bases to effect thereon its particular operation, meanssupplying air to the regenerating cover, burners firing into theannealing cover, and means supplying gas to the burners, a plurality ofconduits, one for conveying preheated air for combustion fromtheregenerating cover to said burners, one for conveying preheatingproducts of combustion from the annealing cover to the preheating cover,and one for conveying waste products of combustion away from thepreheating cover, said conduits being each provided with a plurality ofports, removable closures for said ports, said conduits including mainducts and auxiliary conduit means associated with the regenerating,annealing, and preheating covers and providing communication throughsaid ports between the interiors of said regenerating and preheatingcovers and said burners, respectively, and the main ducts, respectively,for the aforesaid conveying functions, 'respectively, the ports of theseveral conduits being positioned identically, relatively to all thebases.

3. A continuous method of annealing metal articles in multiple batchesconsisting in providing a system for regenerating, annealing,preheating, and cooling operations, supplying air and gaseous fuelcontinuously to said system, simultaneously effecting, upon threedifferent batches, preheating, annealing, and cooling operations,respectively, by heating air by a cooling batch, burning gaseous fuelwith the heated air to anneal a second batch, using the products ofcombustion from the annealing operation to preheat a third batch,discharging from the system the waste products of combustion from thepreheating operation, and removing from the system a cooled batch andreplacing it with a fresh batch; and then, while maintaining the batchesin the system in situ, shifting the cycle of operations so as to preheatthe fresh batch with products of combustion from an annealing of thebatch which had been previously preheated and which now is beingannealed by the burning of gaseous fuel with heated air derived from thecooling of the batch which had been previousy annealed, and removingfrom the system a cooled batch and replacing it with a fresh batch, andthus repeatedly shifting the cycle of operations.

LAZEN'BY C. HAMLINK.

